Not Yours, Never Yours
by shewhomutters
Summary: He left and she had the baby without him. Sounds simple... but he can't let it go. Not after a year, not after three years, not after six years... The story of Lin's father. Momma Toph/Lin, Toph Beifong/The Mysterious Stranger known as Lin's Dad.
1. Chapter 1

"Toph, there is someone on his way here. I think he wants to talk to you."

The earthbender gets up, pressing her feet firmly to the ground. She's cradling six-month-old Lin in one arm and holding one-and-a-half-year-old Tenzin's hand with her other. Katara rises behind Toph, giving up on her fruitless attempt to get a comb through Bumi's mangled hair.

"Who is it Aang?" Katara asks.

But the Island boat has just pulled in. The passengers get off. Toph feels it. The heavy footfalls, steady stance. It's an earthbender. Worse, it's _her _fucking earthbender.

"I'd rather not say..."

Toph hands her daughter to Katara and lets go of Tenzin.

"I'll take care of this. Katara, do not, under any extreme circumstances, let him touch her. Or see her for that matter."

Katara nods and Toph marches out the door, followed by Aang who is closely followed by young Bumi.

Out in the courtyard he stands, not really knowing what to do, but he's sure she will come.

"Hi," a tiny voice says.

He turns around, there's a little girl standing behind him, carrying a schoolbag.

"Are you looking for my Dad?" She asks.

The man cracks a brilliant smile and crouches down to her level.

"No, I'm actually looking for my wife. Have you seen her?"

She opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by a yell from across the courtyard.

"Kya, get away from there!"

The Man whirls around and sees her. Toph's standing a distance away, hands on her hips. She's a rather small woman, but as solid as a rock, just how he remembers. Toph urges Kya inside as Avatar Aang materializes behind the metalbender. The Man takes a step forward to get to her.

"Stop," she says. "Why are you here?"

He raises his eyebrows, not breaking his smile.

"I'm here for you, love," he tells her.

"Oh, cut the crap, asshole" she says. "Why are you really here?"

The man wipes the smile from his face. Outward appearances don't work on Toph anyways, he knows that. He goes to take another step closer but she holds up her hand to halt him. He's still at least twenty feet away but she likes it that way.

"Asshole, love? Is that really any way to treat your own husband?"

"I deem it pretty acceptable, given the situation," she replies with a shrug.

He sighs, wiping his hand down his face. He knew she would be like this, so challenging.

"Okay, can I see her then?" He asks.

"Who?" she questions.

"My daughter?"

"Oh, I didn't know you had one," she replies snarkily.

He laughs at the ground. She's really as unyielding as ever.

"I heard you named her Lin... I like it." He states. "Bet she looks just like you, Toph."

Her chest constricts when he says her name. It's another stab at her outer-shell, the one that conceals all of her deepest emotions. She doesn't want to feel anything but anger towards this man, for all he's done.

"I wouldn't know," she says, pointing to her frosty eyes. "Anyways, I'm not letting you see her. I'm not letting _you_ into her life."

The Man starts walking and doesn't stop until he's a foot away from his wife, and looking down at her. All he can see is her bangs, since she keeps her head down, still standing her ground.

"Oh no, you can't do that to me, love. She's just as much mine as she is yours."

Toph laughs, placing a finger on his chest and inching him away from her.

"Oh I can't can I? Think again, bub," she tells him. "You made the decision as to whether or not she was yours when you _left me._"

"I didn't know you were pregnant!" he cries, exasperated.

"You didn't have to know! If you wanted to be a part of this family you would have stayed around to help build it!" She shouts at him.

Truthfully, the Man is shocked by her outburst. When he had left a year ago she seemed so unbiased, uncaring. It was as if she didn't give a damn whether he would stay or go. So he had left without a second thought. He inhales deeply and closes his eyes, counting to five in his head. He's learned to better control his anger since he left.

"Toph," He's surprised at the amount of hurt his voice reveals. "I just want to see my daughter."

"Okay, how about... stay away from us."

The man exhales violently, quicker than anything, he's got his wife by the shoulders, giving her a small shake. Well, small for him anyways. Her head flies back and he can see the mix of sheer emotions on her face.

_Panic. Rage_.

And the same time she earthbends him to the sky; he gets pushed back by a gust of wind... and knocked in the head by a tiny boomerang. Aang and his son have her back. Bumi is even standing boldly in front of his Aunt Toph, caught boomerang at the ready.

Her husband lands on the dock, holding the small bump forming on his forehead.

"She. Deserves. A. Father." He says between breaths.

"She does, but you don't deserve her." Toph replies. "Now, get out my seismic sight."

It has been three years. The Man moves in and out of Republic City as he pleases. He stays there more often than he doesn't, however, always hoping to get a glimpse of his wife, his kid.

_Toph..._

_Lin..._

The first time he ever sees his daughter is during a holiday. It is the anniversary of the day the Hundred Year War Ended. A celebration of peace, where families and friends get together to see a parade, watch fireworks, have large dinner parties. The Man decides to set out that day, just to watch the festivities.

When he first spots the little girl, she's riding on top of the crowd. Literally. Toph's got her daughter on her shoulders so the three-and-a-half-year-old can see everything that goes on. The parade makes a lot of noise and there were many people on the streets cheering and having a good time. So the Man feels it is safe to follow the girl and her mother as they walk through the square. He smiles when he sees that Lin does indeed look like Toph. He immediately falls in love with the little girl. Her smile, her beautiful dark curls. As much as Toph will never want him to, the Man will always feel like Lin's father.

So he starts doing things for Lin.

He leaves her presents.

Small mementos

Clever wood carvings, little mounds of interesting rock.

Things that Toph won't notice. Things that she'd think were from someone else, or picked up by Lin.

Reminders to the little one that someone is watching out for her. (very Boo Radley, might I add)

Three years go by.

One present is a small doll. An earthbender girl who looks just like Lin's mom. Hair and everything with a championship belt over her green and yellow smock. He made it himself.

Lin is inseparable from that doll.

At first, Toph just thinks the doll is a gift from one of her students or family members. Lin would receive presents from them all of the time. But when two more dolls show up, one of a little girl with dark curls and the other a strong male earthbender with a tattoo stitched into his shoulder, Toph begins to get suspicious.

She realizes that every Wednesday night, the night that she has midnight hours at work, Lin somehow gets new things. She always has something new and different that she wakes up to the next morning.

So one Wednesday, Toph takes off from work, and waits up until after her daughter has fallen asleep. Sure enough, she feels him sneak up to the mansion.

He opens Lin's window, the largest one in the house, and slides in.

Now that Lin is six, he knows that she has begun learning how to read small words. So tonight he has a picture for her, with a short caption. It's one of himself holding the little girl, while her smiling mother sits beside them. The caption reads "Family." He's about to tuck it securely under her pillow when he feels a hand on his shirt and is yanked away.

Out into the hallway, the house is pitch dark.

He can't see a thing, but knows he's about to get hit.

It doesn't matter to Toph who is about ready to kill the guy.

Thud.

The small earthbender shoves her husband roughly against the wall.

"Remind me why I shouldn't kill you..." she hisses at him.

"Love, you'd have to arrest yourself," he replies.

She laughs sarcastically under her breath and takes him by the shirt, out of the upstairs hallway, down to the front hall.

"Get out! I never want to find you near my daughter again," she says.

"_Our _daughter, love," he corrects her.

Smash.

She sends him through a closet door, pulling him back out by his collar.

Thud.

He's thrown to the hard floor, aching, ribs cracking, bones bruising. She leans over him.

"My daughter. She's my daughter, not yours, you idiot. She doesn't need you. What are you trying to do here anyways? Trying to brainwash her or something? What's on that piece of paper?"

"It's nothing important," he replies.

"You're damn right," she says taking it and crumpling it. "I never liked paper anyways."

Taking advantage of his time not being thrown around the Beifong mansion, he manages to find Toph's wrist in the dark. He tugs it closer to his chest in an effort to put it over his heart. She snatches it away.

"Don't. Touch. Me. Okay?" she hisses.

"Why not, love? You are my wife after all," he asks innocently. He moves to take her wrist again but she keeps it out of reach.

"You know damn well why-exactly-not. You are still so insufferable! _Don't touch me_!"

Her response is met by silence. He's just laying there, lungs splitting, trying to find her face in the dark.

He grabs her wrist again, pulling her down to him, taking her waist in his other hand. She struggles for a second but then stops. He thanks his lucky stars she hasn't decided to earthbend his ass yet. So he wraps his arms around her and pulls her tight to his chest.

It's hard for Toph to think what to do. She wants to hurt him, badly. She thinks she should send him away for good. But she's crushed to his chest and he smells like the earth, enveloping her in an aroma that lulls her senses, makes her want to fall asleep in his arms. She hasn't felt that way in a long time, and it concerns her. They lie there for a few seconds just breathing. Then she has to ruin it.

"Are you finished now?" Toph asks.

"No," He replies honestly.

"Well, I am," she says, wriggling out of his grip. "Now, get out of my house."

"Toph!"

"I mean it. And the next time I find you close to Lin without my permission I _will _throw you in jail."

He sighs, moving to brush her bangs aside. He can see her glossy gray eyes vaguely through the dark. He works on biding himself some time.

"Why'd you marry me, Toph?"

"Stop stalling," she replies, being a troll. She stands, leading him towards the door and opening it.

Light from the street shines across the doorway, flooding into the hall.

"Goodbye," she says impatiently.

He takes a breath and looks at her, quickly grabbing her into a hug. He's so tall he lifts her off the ground. So she just hangs there uncomfortably while he inhales her.

Click. Light fills the house.

"Mommy?"

Lin is standing at the bottom of the stairs, clutching her doll.

The woman's head pops up, she struggles to escape her husband's grasp. He's so surprised he lets her go. She hits the ground and hurries over to her daughter.

"Lin, baby. What are you doing awake?"

The little girl rubs her eyes tiredly.

"I heard a loud noise and I thought it was my Daddy." She looks to see her father standing in the open doorway.

"It was!" she says excitedly.

Toph takes her daughter's hand.

"Honey, why did you think it was your father of all people?"

Lin hugs her doll closer and steps near her mother, playing with the long hair in front of Toph's eyes.

"Because my Daddy gave me presents!"

Her Father smiles, showing perfect white teeth.

"Did you like them, love?"

Toph stutters.

"No, do not talk to her... Baby, we're going back to bed okay?"

Lin yawns.

"Is Daddy going back to bed too, Mommy?"

"No, baby," Toph says picking her daughter up. "He's leaving."

As she ascends the stairs with Lin, she flicks her fist in his direction. He can feel the earth pushing him outside the house, down to the front steps. But he counters it and stands back in the doorway.

Lin is watching him sleepily over her mother's shoulder.

"Where will he go, Mommy?" she asks.

"Wherever, Baby. I'm sure he has somewhere else to go. He normally does," she replies.

He touches his chest in mock hurt. She feels it.

_Ouch, love._

"Can't he tuck me in then?" she asks, nuzzling her face into her Mom's neck.

"I don't think so—"

Her father dashes to the bottom of the stairs and begins ascending after them, skipping three at a time.

"Of course I can!" he exclaims.

Lin looks at her father and grins, reaching out her arms for him. Toph protests but he's already taken the little girl and is carrying her to her room.

It's the first time he has ever touched Lin. Held her.

His daughter.

And she is just so perfect. Her little black curls fan out around her face when she looks down at the ground, checking out the drastic distance from her perch. She squeals, tightening her arms around her father's neck.

"Don't let me fall, Daddy!"

"I won't. I promise."

In Lin's room, her father sets her down. She's perfectly awake now. She dashes around the room, pulling items out of drawers, showing him things.

"And Daddy, this is my _favorite _rock."

"It's beautiful, love."

It really is. Even at six, Lin is an earthbending prodigy. She's bent this rock into a three-dimensional model of a sky bison.

"This is Oogie. He's going to be Tenzin's sky bison someday. Mommy won't let me ride him though... OH and here's another one I made..."

"Okay, Lin. That's enough, baby," Toph interrupts. "You've gotta go to sleep now, remember?"

Lin sighs.

"Okay. But can I show Daddy my rocks tomorrow?"

Toph picks her daughter up and sets her in bed, tucking the covers up around her.

"Baby, I'm sorry but Daddy's not going to be here tomorrow," she says.

"Why not, Daddy?" Lin asks, looking to her father.

He sighs, brushing a curl out of his daughter's face. Toph grabs his elbow warningly.

"Well, I'm not allowed to, love," he says. "It's just the rules."

"What rules, Daddy?"

Her father looks at his little daughter, and her questioning face. He looks to his wife, who is sitting next to him, chin down, hands in her lap. _She's thinking that I'm going to rat her out. I'm going to make Lin hate her and want to be with me more. _In truth, he is seriously considering it. But in the end he just picks up Lin's doll, which had been placed very carefully at the end of her bed, and gives it to her. Securing the covers around the both of them, he sets her with an explanation.

"Just the rules of being your Daddy... Goodnight, love," he breathes.

"Goodnight Daddy, Goodnight Mommy. I love you," Lin says yawning.

"Goodnight, Lin," Toph whispers.

Lin's already asleep, breathing softly.

Out in the hallway, Toph closes Lin's door lightly.

"Wow, out like a light, huh?" He says incredulously.

"She was already pretty tired when she went to sleep earlier. It's our fault we woke her up anyways," Toph says.

They stand there awkwardly in the hallway for a second. He looks her over, he hadn't noticed her pajamas were in shambles. He looks down at his own outfit, rumpled and torn, and chuckles to himself.

_Just like old times. _

"Well," he says. "I guess this is goodbye then, love."

They walk to the stairs, she waits at the top for him to go down the staircase.

"Bye," she replies.

He gets to the end of the stairs and turns up to his wife.

"By the way, you've got a really great kid there."

"I know."

He starts for the door. She thinks that he's finally going. Finally leaving forever.

Does she even want that? Does she want forever? To Toph, there are two forevers; forever here and forever gone. So yes, she wants forever, and she's getting forever. But she doesn't want forever to start, not just yet.

"Hey wait," she calls softly.

"Yes?"

She thinks to the remark she made to Lin about where he went when he left...

"Do you... do you have any place to go?" she asks.

He thinks back to the empty apartment he's rented.

"Kind of."

She sighs, hugging her stomach.

"Do—do you want to stay here for the night? With me?"

_With me_

_With me_

_With me_

_With me_

_With me_

_With me_

_With me_

With me?

Her husband almost faints.

"Yes," he replies. It's the most sincere "yes" he's ever given.

"You have to be gone before she wakes up..."

"Okay," he says. He wouldn't ask for anything more.


	2. Chapter 2 Waking Up

Sure enough, when Toph wakes up the next morning, he's not there. The only thing left of him is the dent in her pillows. Rumples in the sheets. The feeling is remarkably familiar. Remarkably heart-wrenching. She just stays in bed, inhaling the rest of his scent, desperately trying to hold herself together.

She didn't realize how much this would make her miss him. She had no idea.

And she thinks to herself that she only made it this way. She was the one who kicked him out the night before. She blames herself.

She wonders why she did that. Why couldn't she have let him stay? Why couldn't she have asked him to stay?

She could have easily gotten him back in her life.

He could have been that father to Lin. The one Lin deserved. She witnessed how he was with her the night before. So gentle, loving... different. The way he humored the little girl was absolutely adorable. He seemed so eager to be that man... maybe to prove himself to Toph. Did he want her to ask him to stay that one night or forever? She shivers at the thought of that word.

Forever.

Forever, meaning the word he had whispered to her the first time he cradled her in his arms like a precious baby...

Forever, meaning the promises they made when they exchanged rings...

Forever, meaning the promises never kept...

Forever, meaning empty beds, empty hands, empty shells.

_Full wombs though._

She shivers again. No, forever is not a word Toph can take seriously with him. She should've known. Forever doesn't mean anything to him. It's just a sound, as easily bent as the earth they stand on.

Forever doesn't matter. He's not that kind of man. He doesn't like doing things forever. He can't stay forever, but he can't just disappear forever either. So she knows he'll be back... ready to bring more confusion and heartbreak.

That is why Toph wants him out. She is done with him. He could only give what he had successfully given to them within the past twenty-four hours. A fresh dose of happiness, bliss, followed by hurt, disappointment. Like he had thrown them in the air, and then let them both come crashing down again.

But it's all her fault. In actuality, she shouldn't have driven him away. She shouldn't have even married him if she hadn't been sure of her true feelings... All Toph can think is that it is just her fault. It's all her fault.

Just like her to find something so good in her life and then fuck it all up.

The whole reason why she had Lin was because of this man who had loved her so unconditionally... Sometimes Toph felt like she didn't deserve it. She certainly didn't deserve Lin. The little girl was the sole living thing that Toph's life revolved around. Lin was someone that loved the Chief more than anything, looked up to her, idolized her. Toph was ready to protect her little girl from the world. From everything. So what would happen if she had let Lin's father back into their lives. How long would it be until he got paranoid and frightening again? Yes, frightening. He was frightening when he was angry and when he was jealous. It was nothing Toph couldn't handle, but Lin... What happens when Lin has to listen to screaming matches? Has to feel the earth shake so violently? Has to learn the hard way what heartbreak is at such a young age? What happens when she has to deal with her father marching out the door?

Toph can't have that. She won't take that from anybody. What would happen to her daughter? She won't let him hurt Lin like he had hurt her.

It is better that he not be in their lives than in and out of their lives.

So Toph makes a promise to herself, to flush him out. To remove the object of heartbreak, of pain. It is better to get rid of the nail before someone steps on it.

Lin's father will never hurt them again.

Toph hears the bedroom door creak open. Small feet pad over to the empty side of the bed. The little girl climbs up, burrowing herself under the covers next to her mother. She snuggles closer, tucking into Toph's side, a small hand touches her mother's cheek.

"Mommy," she sniffs.

"Yes, baby?"

"Don't cry, Mommy. I'm right here." Toph feels two little arms circle around her torso, feels the weight of the little girl's head on her chest. Her daughter, trying to comfort her. She snatches Lin up and holds her tight.

"I'm not crying, baby," she replies. The metalbender would never let herself cry in front of her little badgermole.

But Toph can hear Lin's own ensuing sniffles.

"Lin, baby. It's okay, it's going to be okay."

Lin's tear-stained face is buried in her mother's shirt, which is now soaked.

"Mommy, stop lying to me! Why does everybody lie to me?!"

She scrambles out of her mother's grasp and stuffs her face into the same pillow her father had used the night before. Toph rubs Lin's back while the little girl cries herself out. And after, since the six-year-old is angry at herself for being so weak, she grabs the pillow and throws it across the room, earthbending it to feathery shreds, and collapsing down on the mattress again.

Toph pulls her daughter close, and strokes her hair, kissing the top of Lin's head.

"Lin, I'm not lying to you. I will never lie to you," she promises. "It is going to be okay, baby."

Lin's voice is muffled in her mom's shoulder.

"Everybody lies to me, Mommy. Daddy lied to me. He said we would be a family, he said he would be here forever."

"Lin," Toph begins.

"No, Mommy. I know why you don't like Daddy now. I know why you tried to make him leave before... He lies. He says he's going to stay, and then he doesn't."

"Lin, when did he tell you this?" Toph asks.

"He always told me, Mommy!" She cries. "He was going to stay for good because he promised me—he promised..." she heaves in a choked sob.

Toph realizes that Lin's father had never actually talked to Lin before. She had never come face to face with him. But he had always been there. He had always left that promise in the forms of presents... rocks, drawings, carvings, dolls.

"I just want to have a family!"

Toph sits up with the little girl in her arms, shushing her.

"Baby, you have a family. You have me and I have you and that's all we need. We are our family."

The mother rocks her daughter in her arms while her daughter touches the hair in front of her mother's face.

And Toph whispers to Lin every little promise she has ever made to her daughter. Every promise that Toph has kept or will keep.

Because Toph Beifong does not lie. Not to Lin.


	3. Chapter 3 Back

"Happy Birthday, Lin!"

There's laughter in the yard of the Beifong Mansion. It's Lin's sixteenth birthday. She has a small party, mostly made up of Aang's family, Sokka's family, and a few of Toph's metalbending students— all Lin's friends.

Toph believes that today is a good day. The Beifongs are surrounded by people that are all here to celebrate Lin. They're just opening presents though, when the doorbell rings.

Sokka goes to get it.

"Hello?"

When he opens the door, it's Lin's father. Up until this year, Toph has successfully been able to kick the man out of every birthday party, every special event, every random visit. All before he can even see Lin. Before his daughter even knows he's there.

But Toph is distracted, and Sokka doesn't even recognize him.

The man fills the doorway. He's got presents, a whole load of them. When the door opens he expects Toph. He expects rejection. He expects to just drop the presents and leave.

However, he's pleasantly surprised that she isn't the one to answer the door. He's a little annoyed at who is though.

"You're Sokka?"

"Yes," Sokka says. "And who are you?"

"I'm... one of Lin's family members."

"Oh," Sokka replies, slightly confused and a little suspicious. "I'll go get Toph then."

Lin's dad shuffles in and shuts the door with his foot..

"No need," He proceeds through the hall, into the kitchen, setting his presents down before pulling out one he made himself. It is a stuffed badgermole. Holding onto the soft fabric, he makes his entrance to the party.

Toph is talking to Katara at the same time she's trying to sort through a mess of tissue paper and presents. Lin is surrounded by her friends. Her father marvels at how much she's grown. He notices how when Lin grins, her eyes crinkle and she flashes her teeth in a familiar way. His daughter is still perfect.

She looks up, mid laugh and sees him. Her face falls. The man briefly compares it to snow. Delicate, beautiful, ice cold.

"Dad?"

Everything goes quiet as the party guests all turn to look in the direction Lin is staring. He musters a weak smile. His daughter's eyebrows furrow in confusion. Somewhere in the background there's a disruptive smash. In an instant, Toph is in his vision, firing rocks at his chest.

"Get. Out. Of. Here,"

He takes the rocks like they're pillows but when she slams into him, he flies backwards. Toph continues leveling more rocks at his chest until he's backed up into the main hall.

"I absolutely cannot believe this. What about get out of our lives and stay out don't you understand!?" She shouts. Toph is actually not surprised he showed up. She is more surprised that the imbecile who answered the door couldn't even recognize him. The earthbender is mainly just angry at her husband's nerve, crashing his daughter's actual party.

"Mom? What's going on?"

Lin has chased after her parents into the main hall. She's holding the soft badgermole. Her face reveals a layer of confusion, on top of a layer of hurt.

"It's nothing, Lin," Toph replies. "Please, just go back to your party."

"What is he doing here?"

"Lin, I said go back outside," Toph orders. Her daughter doesn't budge an inch.

Sokka bursts into the room, quickly followed by Aang, Katara, Suki... and everyone else.

"Is he bothering you two?" Sokka demands. Almost everyone in the group in in some sort of defensive stance, even the kids. Toph's husband narrows his eyes at the non-bender, but Toph interjects.

"He won't be after I'm done with him,"

She levels another rock at Lin's dad. He deflects it.

"Mom!" Lin cries.

"DO NOT argue with me right now, Lin, please."

Toph bends the earth under her husband's feet so that he goes flying across the hall, landing the completely wrong way. Lin crosses her arms and pops her hip, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not arguing," She states. "By all means hit him as much as you like. Just don't kill him. It's _illegal_."

Lin's dad rises, holding his throbbing head.

"Thank you for your sympathy, love." he responds. Frankly, he's a little hurt his own daughter isn't a bit concerned for his well-being. "I just came to wish you a happy birthday."

"Thanks," Lin says tuning away. "You can leave now."

She tosses the badgermole behind her. He stumbles a bit and snatches it up.

"Wait," he calls. "Would you just accept my presents?"

She turns a little so he can see the profile of her face.

"I'd rather not."

Lin's dad is seeing double, at first he just thinks it his emotions. Her cold detachment feels like multiple punches in the stomach. But when he turns his head down, he knows he's really hurt. Fiery blotches appear in his vision. He staggers forwards again.

Toph nails him with a pillar of earth. Then she reaches down and grabs the man's collar, preparing to throw him out the door. But before she can do anything he passes out, unconscious on the ground in front of his wife and sixteen-year old.


	4. Chapter 4 Confessions

**_"Those three words, I said too much. But not enough." -Snow Patrol_**

* * *

Lin pinches herself.

No, this can't be real. It isn't real. This man, her father... why would he come back? How dare he come back, after all he did to them... on her birthday too. She leans with her shoulder against the doorway of the guest room, hugging her arms across her chest. Lin knows that her mother is angry. Furious. It's not everyday the great earthbender becomes so enraged that she _actually _beats someone unconscious.

Even now, Toph stands beside Katara, venting about the douchebag that lies unmoving in front of them. Part of Lin wishes that the waterbender wouldn't heal him. She wants him to wake up with the splitting headache he deserves... or just not wake up at all.

However, the man in the guest bed stirs. Lin hopes he's too disoriented to see her. She doesn't want him to notice her. Apparently, the universe is not on Lin's side today because as his eyes blink open, she is the first person he catches sight of.

He cracks a smile at the girl before wincing when Katara moves to touch his head. After a moment, he goes back to smiling at Lin.

"Hey, love," he says.

She turns away so that her back is to the doorway now. He can see her profile, the wide dark waves of hair that flow over her shoulder as she looks blatantly towards the ground. Toph steps in front of him, blocking his view.

"Nope," she says.

Ouch. Denied.

"What time is it?"

"About nine o'clock at night," Katara informs them.

The man has been conked out for an hour. Lin's dad takes a deep breath. He decides that he's going to stand up. At this point he's either going to be with his daughter or leave. Katara protests when he throws off the covers and places his feet on the ground. Toph still stands between her husband and Lin. He sighs and makes to get out.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The man stops. Oh, now she wants him to stay.

"Away," he tells Toph. "I see this little trip proved to be pointless... All I wanted was to see her, you know."

Lin snorts, a sound not unlike one her mother would make.

"I'm right here," She interjects, annoyed. "And you just saw me."

He looks over Toph's head to his daughter. Lin is clutching her mother's hand and glaring at him.

"Right," he agrees.

That's all he can think to say. He moves to take another step towards the door but his knees buckle. Lin's frustrated, judging face betrays concern. The man feels two sturdy arms around him, stopping him from crumpling to the floor. Toph guides him back to the bed and he settles down, breathing hard.

Lin finds herself sitting beside him. Toph catches herself worrying that maybe this time she hit him too hard.

"Are you okay?" they ask in unison.

He looks at them, smiling a little.

"I'm alright," he replies. Katara's hands glow with water as she works to heal him.

"I think we're done for now," she says. "There's only so much I can do with these kind of injuries. Just rest for a while and you'll be fine."

Now he's not sure what to do. He should leave. Otherwise, he would just be overstaying his welcome. He doesn't really want to have to deal with his daughter's cold attitude towards him anyways. It might just break his heart...

_These women._

He thanks Katara but makes to sit up, only to feel two pairs of hands push him back down into the pillows again.

"Didn't you hear her, jerkface?" Toph demands. "How about rest before you ditch us again."

Lin nods.

He leans back, sighing contentedly. Katara leaves after telling him to go to sleep. Lin and her mother are just about on their way out when Toph pauses at the door.

"Mom?"

"Just go ahead, kiddo," she replies, tapping the door. "I'm going to stick around for a bit."

"Okay," the teenager replies dully and begins walking away.

"Lin,"

"Yeah, Mom?"

The earthbender steps outside the door and takes her daughter in her arms.

"Love you, baby. I know this is kind of an awful time to say it but happy birthday."

Lin shudders in her mom's embrace and tightens her arms around her.

"Thanks Mom. It was amazing from the second I woke up, I swear." She replies. "_Nothing _is going to ruin that for me."

Toph kisses Lin's hair and releases her. She can tell that Lin is still hurt and silently curses the man who ruined her daughter's day.

"Okay, baby. Good night."

"Night."

Lin makes her way down the hall to her room but when she opens the door, Tenzin is seated on her bed, reading one of her new books.

"Feathers! What are you doing here?" She demands.

He shuts the book and fixes her with a look.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he replies.

Lin smiles.

"I'm fine, thanks. Actually, it's good you're here. Can you help me with something?"

A minute later, Lin's on Tenzin's back and he's airbending them back down the hallway towards the guest room. They stop outside the door at the only piece of furniture in the large house without a single scrap of metal on it. It's a short antique wooden bureau. Some sort of fancy Beifong heirloom. Underneath each leg there's a small piece of cloth to keep it from scratching the floor. Lin knows that it is a fuzzy spot for her mother because the blind earthbender used to bump into it all of the time. Lin and Tenzin creep up onto the bureau, careful not to touch the wall so that Toph can't sense them. It's not nearly big enough for two people so Lin ends up in Tenzin's lap. From their perch, they can hear everything that goes on in the guest room.

Inside, Toph quickly pulls up a chair and sits in it, leaning back against the wall and crossing her arms. There is silence for a few moments when Lin's father turns his head and opens his eyes to look at her.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she replies. "I'm waiting here until you actually fall asleep."

"So concerned for my well-being?" he asks.

She shakes her head, frowning because she knows he's teasing her.

"More like I'm more concerned for you and your funny business."

He grins.

"Why? You afraid I'm going to try to leave and make off with your daughter?"

"You know me so well."

He turns on his side and props himself up on his elbow, chin in hand.

"Well, while we're talking, why don't you come have a seat by me so I can see you better?"

Toph snorts.

"What's your point, I can't see you at all," she shoots back. "And I kinda like this corner anyways." She pats the wall fondly and puts her hands behind her head, flexing her arms.

He just rolls his eyes and sends a small tremor through the floor. Toph's chair comes shooting forward and stops by the side of the bed. The woman almost flies clear over him but he steadies her and returns her to the seat, holding her small but powerful hands in his.

"Very smooth, jerkface," Toph says with a smirk.

He turns her hands over, rubbing her palms with his thumbs. The earthbender sighs into the sensation. She remembers a time when he used to do this to her feet after a long day. He used to be one of the only people she trusted to do that. The rhythmic circles make her want to crawl into bed with him and go to sleep. But instead, Toph folds her fingers into fists. He tries to kiss her knuckles. She pulls them back.

"Don't you try anything," she says warningly.

"Wasn't planning on it."

He reaches for her wrists again.

She exhales, exasperated. The earthbender can't believe what's gone on today. She'd almost murdered her husband on an angry rampage, her reaction had totally ruined her baby girl's sixteenth birthday, and now she's sitting at his bedside, letting him hold her hands.

"I still cannot _believe _your nerve," she whispers. "You really are an idiot."

He grins cockily.

"Hey, I think it worked out rather nicely."

She pushes him away, disgusted.

"Are you kidding me? Are you seriously pulling my leg right now, jerkface?" her anger flares for a second. "Look at what you did! You ruined Lin's birthday, I almost killed you right in front of her and what's worse you blatantly opened up all of her old wounds. Do you even _realize _how much you hurt her today?"

He remembers Lin's face when she saw him appear at the house a few hours ago. It had simply fallen from something so happy and angelic, to something painfully confused.

And Lin's Dad can't help but feel selfish. He'd only come for himself, not even thinking about his own daughter's feelings. No better, he was staying the night because of his own stupidity.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid._

"When you left us I wanted to make sure you really couldn't come back because I knew, _I knew _this would happen."

He sits up quickly, ignoring the stabbing pain in his head.

"Woah, wait a second, love." He replies defensively. "I don't think you realize my situation here. It wasn't completely my fault I left. You know this wasn't exactly a one-sided decision..."

She scoffs.

"What are you trying to tell me it's my fault you up and walked out?" she demands.

He looks at his wife in disbelief.

"Toph..."

"_If_ this is about you being _so_ jealous about nothing then really, get out of my house," she says angrily, standing and gesturing to the door.

He grabs her arm again.

"I wasn't jealous about nothing, love."

"Oh, please."

He shakes his head, some of the dizziness returning.

"Allow me to refresh your memory then." He tells her, fingers tightening against her skin. The woman can feel it crawling.

"When you agreed to marry me I felt like the happiest man alive. That was because I was in love with you..."

Toph yanks her forearm out of his grip. She does not want to hear this.

Her husband, who wouldn't take the hint, continues.

"I knew. I _knew _you didn't love me back. Not in the same way. And I was an imbecile, I went for it anyways because I didn't want a life without you. When you said yes I didn't know why but I was just so... elated and I didn't care about anything else as long as I had you." He exhales, closing his eyes momentarily.

"I had so many plans for us, love. We were going to travel. We were gonna have adventures and I had this ridiculous idea that you would somehow grow to love me like I loved—love you."

She turns away from him. There he goes with the present tense again. Even with all that had happened between them. All that hadn't worked. All that Toph had done to him... He says it again. Those three words and he says way too much.

Her husband thinks that she's got her arms crossed defiantly when she's actually crossing her arms to keep herself from falling apart, or letting herself lose it or any combination of the two.

And she really doesn't want to hear this.

"But a few months turned into two years and you just couldn't get over it, could you? You barely gave me the time of day. You and that desperate little schoolgirl crush you had on what's-his-name? That watertribe stiff. He was married with kids and you still couldn't just grow up."

Toph shakes her head numbly.

"No... I—" she chokes all too quietly.

He's lying right behind her but for the first time since they met, he's afraid to touch her. He's not sure how she'd react. So he speaks to her softly, arms resting at his sides.

"And then there was me. You know, I was patient. I wanted to go all over the world with you. But you had this new job and you didn't want to leave. I remember, you were just so _set_ on staying. I tried to ask you why. I couldn't understand what tied you to this damned city!"

Toph whirls around.

"I had a job to do! You can't just ask me to leave that new responsibility. And you couldn't ask me to leave my friends either. They were my family!"

"Since when did you ever care about responsibility? Oh no, love." he counters with a sarcastic laugh. "On the contrary; I couldn't ask you to leave this city because you just couldn't leave him. You didn't want to. Isn't that right?"

"Fine," Toph says. "Fine, if that's what you want to believe."

"I did believe it, love." He replies. "You were just so... so obsessed."

The earth under Toph's feet rumbles defiantly to match her emotions.

"I have never been obsessed with anybody in my life, jerkface. Are you sure you're in the right house?"

The man isn't fazed by the rumbling or the sound of his wife in denial."

"Oh no, you were definitely obsessed... It went on for too long, love. Finally I'd just had enough, fed up with this relationship where I got hurt every time you blushed at him and not at me. That's why I left. I tried to spare myself the humiliation..." He shudders. She can feel the genuine apprehension. "Every day with you was like some kind of night terror. I was always losing something with you. I was always the one left in the dark. So I was done, and I told you I was leaving and you didn't care. So I left and didn't look back... until I heard you had a baby. My baby."

"She will never be _your _baby," Toph hisses.

The woman charges towards the door with every intention of opening it and getting out of this sickening situation. But she pauses with her hand on the doorknob.

"And for the record, I didn't _want_ you to leave." She says in a voice so thick that the man is afraid that she's going to start chucking boulders again. "I had been realizing something those last few weeks... it hadn't made sense for a while but came rushing at me the second you shut that door. I—"

She stops midsentence. No, she doesn't want to talk about this, not her own feelings. Not about the fact that the second he had closed that door, it had hit her like a rock wall. She didn't really love Sokka. Was never in love with him. He was her best friend, yes. But not anything more. Never.

And she had just sat there and had let her husband walk down the steps because she was too proud to call him back. _Too proud._ And the space he left in the house, in her life still lingered in the air. Toph hated that space. It only brought the hurt when she realized that her heart had gone out the door with the man who had occupied that space.

Her heart.

She loved the asshole. She was so in love with that asshole.

Toph chokes down hot tears and pulls open the door, escaping into the hallway.

She sucks in cool air. Tries to breathe. Standing against the closed door momentarily, Toph closes her eyes and screws up her face, not allowing a single drop to fall. She was done. She had been done for sixteen years. The time for crying had passed. Swallowing, the earthbender exhales slowly and begins to make her way to bed.

From the bureau across from his room comes a sniff.

Toph freezes.

Lin sits in Tenzin's lap, face buried in his robes while he holds her as tightly as he can.

"Lin."

The girl raises her tear-stained face.

"Yes?"

"Go to bed."

"Okay."

Toph sighs.

"Tenzin should stay the night also."

"Okay."

The earthbender continues on her way to bed. In the morning, she'd going to smash that bureau to pieces.

Lin buries her face back in Tenzin's robes.

"This is why I'm never getting married."


	5. Chapter 5 Breakfast

That morning, the man rises to the sounds of splintering wood. He ignores the dull aching in his head in order to investigate the offending ruckus.

Toph is out in the yard, smashing that antique bureau with rock upon rock. Wood chips fly everywhere. The ground shakes with every angry move she makes. The man waits it out, seating himself on the cement steps.

Toph finishes, breathing heavily, wanting so badly to scream and crush every chip of wood into paper. But she notices the reason for all of her problems, seated on her back steps. She rounds on him.

"This is all your fault."

"It's my fault?" The man replies, smirking. "You're the one smashing up the priceless antique."

Toph lets out a growl of frustration and digs her fingers into her loose hair, annoyed at herself for even getting involved with him.

"Yes, it is your fault." Toph wrings her hands as she paces. "Every little bit of it. You and your stupid confessions. In case you hadn't realized, there's a teenager in the house! A nosy as fuck teenager who, for some unfortunate reason, hears _everything_."

"Lin heard us talking last night?" Lin's father asks.

"No, she heard us singing Secret Tunnel last night," Toph replies. Sarcasm oozes from each syllable.

Lin's father leans back, letting his face catch the sun. Just let her blow off the steam. She'll get over it soon enough.

"What's the problem with her knowing the truth about things?" He responds cooly.

Toph throws her hands up in the air.

"Why are you not concerned right now? She was upset because of what YOU said."

"She should've known about it years ago."

Toph stills.

"And you're supposed to know what's best for her?" She asks.

He shrugs.

"I'm her father."

Toph wants to scream.

"I'm her mother...Actually, I'm her only parent. You've been gone for years. You have no fucking right to tell me what is best for her." She directs this speech at him in an angry hiss.

"Love, I'm just saying maybe it's better now that she knows about what happened between us," the man replies, holding up his hands innocently.

"Why is that so she has reasons to not hate you? I'm pretty sure she didn't buy them you know."

Lin's father just shrugs, maintaining his self-righteous attitude.

"I just think the truth is important. Especially if it regards myself."

Toph digs her toes into the earth under her feet. The man does not lie to her, but she gets an odd vibe. One that throws her off. One that she's never gotten before. He was up to something. She should've kicked him out of her house when she had the chance.

"You... you act like you care for Lin. You act like you want us back in your life, but give it twelve hours and all that is gone. Whatever you are trying to do, stop it right now."

Toph feels the man stand. He turns to go back into the house.

"Come on inside, love. I'll make breakfast."

Toph clenches her fists.

"You didn't answer me!"

"Don't have to love, come on inside."

For some reason, Toph doesn't reply. She doesn't fire back a violently sarcastic retort or threaten him angrily. She doesn't know what to do. She feels as if every time she tries to show a little control over this situation, something terrifying happens.

Toph always claimed she was afraid of nothing, because fear was weakness. She'd eliminated all of her fears one by one, worked on fighting past them. But this was different. This was terror. This was the nightmare that was her husband. No, she wasn't afraid of her husband. She was afraid of what he could do to her. How he could hurt her. How he could take Lin away. Toph always told herself that it would never happen. Lin would never willingly run away to be with her father. But he was so crafty... and Lin was so stubborn... and Toph was sure that Lin wouldn't understand how things went between her parents. It could happen. It was really what she was afraid of. She could lose everything. Her home, her job, even her friends. But if she ever lost Lin. Toph felt she would lose herself. That was her weakness, that was her fear.

"I said I'm making breakfast!" His deep voice rings out from the kitchen.

Toph's stomach growls. Why was she letting this happen? Her husband, in her home, cooking them breakfast. It was too domestic. It was not her style. But she does nothing in favor of stalking quietly inside, allowing someone else to risk burning themselves on the stove this time.

After all, she was famished.


	6. Chapter 6 Chances

Lin had woken up that morning, surprised at the delicious smells assaulting her nostrils.

Bacon?

She moves to follow the scent, only to trip and fall over a sleeping Tenzin. The teenager groans and sits up, holding his head.

"Feathers!" The girl says.

"Hey Lin," he replies. "Are you okay?"

Lin rubs her knee, laughing.

"Yeah, I'm alright. You could've just slept in the bed with me you know."

Tenzin turns a light shade of pink.

"I was fine on the floor," he replies. "Thanks for the pillow."

He chucks the down-stuffed sack at her. She laughs and smacks him with it.

"No problem, airhead."

Tenzin, refusing to be outdone, grabs the other pillow off of Lin's bed and throws it at her face. The only thing it really does is mess with her already messy bed hair. She raises an eyebrow, holding up the two pillows.

"Really? Tenzin, it doesn't work if you give me all the pillows."

"Okay, then let me have one," he holds out a hand, naively expecting to get a pillow back.

Lin grins.

"That's not how it works either."

She smacks him with the pillows, a few feathers burst out, lingering for a moment in the air. Tenzin laughs.

"Then it looks like I'll have to take them!"

"Try it, I dare you," she challenges.

With that Tenzin lunges at the girl, wrestling her for a pillow. She giggles and tries to squirm away, hitting him with the stuffed objects whenever she gets the chance. One splits open, feathers fly.

Tenzin pins her down, which is not exactly something that Lin is going to complain about. She stuffs the remaining pillow behind her shoulders so he can't get at it. The feathers are everywhere. They stick to Tenzin's robes and in Lin's hair.

"What?! You killed it!" Tenzin pouts as he holds up an empty pillowcase. Lin sticks out her tongue at him.

"You'll never have it now, MUAHAHAHA!"

He chuckles.

"Well now you're my prisoner. So it doesn't matter." To illustrate his point, he puts all his weight on her and pins her arms to her sides. Lin groans.

"Aw you LOAD!"

Whilst she's laughing at her own humor, Tenzin does something daring. He's normally not one for courage, but when he sees his chance he jumps on it. And this was a chance if he ever saw one.

He kisses Lin on the nose.

And then on the forehead.

Lin grows very quiet. Tenzin flushes red. He stops, sitting up and away from her.

"I'm sorry."

"Why?" Lin asks. She immediately misses his weight.

Tenzin scratches his head, even more embarrassed.

"I- I don't know why I just did that."

Lin rolls her eyes and scooches closer to him, boldly settling herself into his lap. She grabs the front of his robes, pulling his face closer.

"Well don't just stop, airhead."

Tenzin and Lin both blush deeply when their lips connect. It's only for a moment. They both pull back, breaking into goofy smiles. Lin's rests her head on his shoulder. Tenzin runs his fingers through her hair, fishing out a small feather.

"So, are you okay?" He asks.

"Mm... about what?"

"About what happened between your parents last night."

Lin's eyes flash for a moment as memories of the conversation replay themselves in her brain. There were a million things Lin could say to Tenzin about how exactly she was feeling. But she swallows them, shrugging. Why ruin the moment?

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Your Dad's probably still here," Tenzin observes.

Lin isn't sure whether or not she's happy about that.

"Do you think so?" She asks.

Tenzin stands and takes her hand. He brushes the feathers out of her hair. She dusts off his robes.

"Let's go find out."

"Does Lin go to school?"

Toph grins. She has her feet up on the table, arms behind her head.

"Shouldn't you know? You've been stalking her since she was born."

The man sets a plate of food on the table beside her feet.

"I obviously don't stalk her," he replies defensively. Toph snorts.

"Yeah, sure thing rockhead."

He rips a grape from the vine on the table and flicks it at her. It hits her on the forehead. She jumps.

"Hey!"

He chuckles.

"That's for calling me a stalker."

She picks up the grape that has fallen into her lap and pops it into her mouth.

"Nice, you definitely got me with that one."

The man rolls his eyes, settling himself into the chair next to her. He picks up a piece of bacon and waves it in front of her nose.

"Choo-choo here comes the badgermole!"

She snatches the strip of meat out of his hand.

"Shut-up badgermoles don't say choo-choo."

He chuckles, picking up another piece of bacon.

"Fine... Grraaaww here comes the badgermole!"

She slaps the food away from her face.

"Just stop, I can feed myself."

To prove herself right, Toph takes a fistful of bacon and stuffs it into her mouth. She punches him in the arm once he starts laughing.

"Mom?"

Toph's head snaps towards the sound of her daughter's voice. Lin is staring curiously at her parents. Toph swallows her food.

"'Morning, baby. How'd you sleep?"

Lin's father jumps up, going over to the stove and piling more food on a plate.

"Okay," Lin says, eyes still on her father. "Tenzin not so much though," she laughs a little. "He slept on the floor, without a blanket or anything."

Toph chuckles.

"That's what Twinkletoes used to do when we traveled. He always refused to let Katara give him one of her blankets," she shakes her head. "Must be some Airbender thing. Come on in you two."

Lin and Tenzin walk into the kitchen, still attached by the hand. If Toph noticed, she said nothing. But Lin's father stares at the entwined fingers suspiciously. He pulls out a chair for his daughter, setting a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her. It smells like the most delicious breakfast she'd ever eat. She can't help but grin with anticipation.

"Thank you," she says.

"You're very welcome," the man replies, the deep fatherliness of his voice resonating about the kitchen.

Tenzin narrows his eyes at the meat set before him.

"Er, no thank you, sir."

Lin looks up at her father.

"Tenzin's a vegetarian..."

The man looks confused for a moment.

"You don't eat meat?"

"No sir."

"Oh, well that's... interesting," he says taking away the plate.

Toph shakes her head.

"He's an airbender, Rockhead. It's in his culture."

Lin's father dumps Tenzin's food on top of his own and tosses the kid an apple.

"Here ya go then."

Tenzin catches it but politely sets it back on the table.

"It's fine, I think I'll be expected at home for breakfast anyways."

He stands. Lin does too, ditching her meal.

"I'll walk you out."

After they leave, Lin's father frowns.

"He doesn't eat meat?"

"Get over it," Toph replies.

"No wonder he's so skinny... What's up with them anyways?"

"What's up with them?" Toph takes another bite of food. The man is still staring at Lin's empty seat and her full plate.

"Didn't you see them holding hands?" He asks.

Toph waves her fingers in front of her eyes.

"Can't see."

He throws another grape at her. Amazingly, she catches this one in her mouth.

"You know what I mean."

Toph chews, laughing.

"Yes, I did notice them holding hands. What of it?"

The man gestures towards the direction they left in. His face is bewildered.

"Are they _together_?" He asks.

Toph snorts.

"Oh, don't get your panties in a twist. It might've happened, it might not have."

"And you don't care? They slept in the same _room_ last night."

Toph crosses her arms, shaking her head.

"I do care. I also trust them. She's not going to make my mistakes."

"Ouch, love."

Toph shrugs.

"Truth hurts, doesn't it?"

Soon, a blushing Lin returns. She seats herself and starts forking down food. Finally, Toph breaks the silence.

"Ready for work today, Lin? By the way, what time is it?" He head swivels in the direction of her husband. He checks the clock.

"Almost eight."

Toph sets down her glass of lychee juice.

"Shit, already? We gotta go."

Lin nods and dumps their dishes in the sink.

"Hold on let me just go get my armor," she says as she dashes out of the room. Toph marches to her own room. Lin's father follows her, observing from the doorway as the Chief bends her metal armor around her body.

"Lin works with you?" He asks.

"Three days out of seven," Toph replies, strapping on the belt that held her metal cables. The man ponders this for a moment.

"Isn't that dangerous?"

Toph stiffens. She walks over and pokes him in the chest.

"Listen here, Mister. Don't you go around questioning my parenting methods with my daughter. You have no right. If I hear another remark from you; consider your ass rubble. Got it?"

"Of course, love."

"And another thing," Toph continues, fixing her metal gauntlet. "I want you gone by the time we get home tonight."

The man sighs. He's been expecting the boot for the past few minutes.

"Toph, please."

"No," she replies. "I'm not going to let you stay here just for the hell of it, okay? Thank you for the breakfast; it was delicious. But we can take care of ourselves without you."

She moves to brush past him but he catches her by the wrist.

"Toph..." She looks as if she's about to hit him.

"One chance, please. I'll do anything for you two just _please _give me one more chance."

Toph sighs. Was she nuts? What could a few more nights really do? She hated throwing all of her securities to the wind and she hated not being able to control anything that she should. But maybe she had been wrong about second chances. Maybe she could let him have just one more.

One last second chance.

"I'm not sure if I should."

"_PLEASE._" Toph could have sworn that this was the most sincere thing he had ever said to her. She exhales, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Fine... one chance. Do you understand?"

Her husband lets out an excited breath and pulls her into his arms. She immediately pushes herself away, ensuring she wasn't picked up off the floor in any form.

"I said one chance. Don't blow it."

"I understand, love."

They make their way down the hall and to the front door where Lin is waiting.

"And stop it with the 'love' bullshit," she adds. "No one wants to hear that crap."

"Of course, love," he replies with a grin. Toph huffs as she throws open the door and walks out, her daughter in tow.

"See you for dinner!" He calls after them, doing a little dance with himself at his success. Lin's father skips into the kitchen, donning an apron. He whistles while he washes the dishes and begins planning the afternoon to come.


	7. Chapter 7 In The Afternoon

**So sorry for not updating... I'm still trying to collect my ideas on this story and make it cohesive. This bit isn't much but I still hope it holds you guys over for the next part! Thank you so much for reading and commenting! It really means a lot! **

* * *

That afternoon, Toph and Lin come home arguing. The man hold the door open for the two women as they tramp in, hissing and spitting.

"This isn't about you needing to prove yourself, Lin! Believe me, you've already done that. Being that reckless almost got you killed," Toph says.

Lin rolls her eyes and gestures to her unscathed self.

"Well I'm still _here _aren't I!?"

Toph prods Lin roughly in the shoulder.

"You deliberately disobeyed my orders in a violent situation. Not only was that dangerous, it was also disrespectful and stupid. There's no way in hell that I can allow you on another raid."

"I was the best metalbender in there!" Lin cries, exasperated.

"Yes, but you were a horrible cop," Toph replies, turning away.

"What happened?" The man asks.

Lin looks as if she's about to scream. Toph's mouth is set in a scowl as she punches off her armor, leaving it in a pile on the floor. She proceeds to stalk into the house in her tank top and pants. Lin kicks the pile.

"QUIT LEAVING YOUR SHIT AROUND!"

"I DO WHAT I FUCKING WANT, CRANKYPANTS!"

"I'll get it," Lin's father offers. The girl starts as if she's just noticed him. Surprise is written all over her face. She frowns.

"Don't bother..."

The man simply picks up the various pieces of metal and starts for Toph's room anyways. He can vaguely hear his daughter stomp into the kitchen. She addresses her mother.

"Uh, _why_ is he still here?"

Toph pauses over her investigation of the dinner that has already been set on the table.

"Is that a problem, Crankypants?"

Lin crosses her arms.

"Well, yes!" she says. She lowers her voice a little, touching her mother's arm. "I thought we hated him?"

"Not hate, baby. Never hate."

"That doesn't even make sense."

Toph purses her lips. She feels just about as confused as Lin does.

"Look, just... I don't know. I'm letting him stay here."

"Why?!"

"I DON'T KNOW," Toph replies. She wipes a hand down her face. "Look, can we just... _try _something here? I know it's odd and it makes you uncomfortable but maybe..." She trails off, not able to put her thoughts into words.

Maybe she could give him a chance, maybe it would be worth it. Maybe her husband was ready to be with them, to commit. And even though Toph was unsure of her true feelings for him; she knew she didn't hate him. She had previously thought that, yes. But there was anger, and there was hate. Hate runs deep, like love. Anger is only on the outside. She had always been angry at her husband. But she had never, truly hated him. My, how things had changed since the previous night.

"I still don't understand," Lin says.

"I don't expect you to," Toph replies. "But do you think we can try this?"

Lin pauses, something tortured flickering across her facial expressions. The flicker is lost on Toph, however, or else maybe the Chief would've changed her mind about it all, and told her husband to leave. Screw second chances if they scared Lin. Screw all of it. But instead Lin replies;

"I guess so."


	8. Chapter 8 Talk

They sit at the dinner table, quietly eating. Well, Lin eats quietly. Toph devours whatever food she can get while Lin's father just laughs and passes her a napkin. Toph accepts it and smiles. Lin, who has never been accustomed to Toph completely getting along with any man who isn't her Uncle Aang or Sokka, feels as if her brain is going to explode.

_How—how could... why?_

She stand up suddenly, almost knocking her chair over. The man mimics her movements less aggressively, eyes trained on her at all times. Lin glares at him. Toph huffs.

"Have a seat, crankypants," she warns.

"Are you okay?" Lin's father asks, as if he didn't know. Lin backs away from him, shaking her head.

"No. Yes... I just," she clutches at her stomach. "I'm not that hungry."

With that, she turns and flees out to the yard, slamming the door behind her. Toph throws her head back and sighs.

"Alright, let me go talk to her." She's about to stand when she feels a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me," Lin's father says. "I suppose it's time we talked."

Toph stills before shrugging, and letting him pass her to go out into the yard.

"Don't let her beat you up," she calls.

"Of course not," he replies. "That's your job."

"Hey."

"Go away."

Lin's father finds the girl seated at a corner of the house, her bare toes buried deep in the earth. She'd been playing with rocks, bending them angrily at the wall.

"Is everything all right?" the man asks.

"You suck."

"Watch your fucking language!" The pair hear Toph's voice ring out from the house. Lin groans. Of course she would be listening. Toph is never not listening.

"Yes, love," Lin's father replies before shutting the back door. "She will, won't you Lin?"

The overwhelming authority and basic fatherliness of this statement makes Lin want to retch. She rolls her eyes, knocking the back of her head against the stone wall. Her father takes a seat close to her. Lin simply moves over, trying to create distance. At the same time she speaks, her father speaks also.

"No, everything is obviously not alright," she says.

"You're right, I do suck... a lot," he says.

They still, each inviting the other to talk first. Finally, Lin snorts.

"No kidding."

"I'm trying to fix this, Lin," he says. "I've been trying since you were a baby—your mother only just decided to give me a second chance."

Lin is silent, hearing people talk about when she was a baby makes her uncomfortable. She nervously crumples small mounds of earth into different shapes.

"She's smart," he continues. "She knew I wouldn't be able to handle all this back then... I was too... immature. But I've grown up and I promise you I'll make up for all the things I've missed. I'll make myself deserving of you two. We'll be a family."

"Family is what me and mom are," Lin interrupts. "They stick together through anything. They don't leave, they don't disappear, and they don't make promises that they can't keep... I don't need anything else out of my family but that."

"Lin."

"Dad."

That completely sarcastic syllable, dripping with criticism does nothing but make the man want to curl his fists in anger. But he doesn't because he's past that. He doesn't get angry anymore.

"Your mother wants me here, and that's got to mean something," he says.

"It doesn't mean much to me," she responds.

The man scratches his cheek for a moment, dropping his argument about how it should mean a lot; that Toph is giving him this chance.

"You like my food."

Despite herself, Lin laughs. She doesn't know why. It's as if all her day has been filled with is mood swings. Depressed at midnight, felicitatious in the morning, intense in the afternoon, angry at night... and now she's laughing not because of his stupid joke but from the fact that it's true. Lin does like his food. It's the only thing she's felt emotionally stable about in the past twenty-four hours. She pulls her knees up to her chest and buries her face in her arms, sighing.

"The worst part about this..." Lin begins. "About knowing that I had a father, and that my mother had a relationship with you, and that I just didn't appear out of thin air... It's just that... I feel like I was some sort of mistake."

"No, Lin..." he begins. But Lin just shakes her head in her arms and cuts him off.

"You left her when she was pregnant with me... I _know_ you didn't have a good relationship, so you shouldn't have been considering having a kid," she swallows the lump in her throat. "But here I am."

Lin's father takes the opportunity to move closer and place a hand on her shoulder. She doesn't shrug it off, but she turns her face away from him, still resting her head in her arms.

"You weren't a mistake, Lin. No one has ever thought of you as something like that," he says. "The only mistake your mother and I made was splitting up... As for our relationship," He pauses for a moment, debating his choice of words. "I loved her and I know she returned those feelings, we just didn't know how to show them very well."

Lin sniffs and lifts her head, looking at him sadly. Finally, she folds.

"I guess I'll buy that for now."

The man manages a smile and stands up, holding out a hand to her.

"Good," he says. "Now come on in inside before your Mom eats everything."

Lin takes his hand with a sick sounding giggle and walks ahead of him into the house.

"Very smooth today," Toph says. She is soaking in the bathtub, having taken more enjoyment to the prospect of cleaning herself now than she did when she was a kid. "Admittedly you are better at talking to people than I am."

"It's a gift, Love." The man says, lying on the tile at the end of the bathtub, fiddling with her dark hair, which spills over the edge and falls halfway to the floor.

"I'm still trying to figure out your game plan," Toph says. Her scalp tingles when he twists her hair into little braids. "You can't expect to stay here forever. But you act like you do."

"I'll stay here as long as you let me, Love," he responds, undoing a braid and then starting again.

"So if I told you tomorrow that you had to go..."

"Then I would," Lin's father says.

"Somehow I doubt that."

He chuckles, sitting up to press a kiss to the top of her head. She doesn't flinch away, a good sign.

"I guess we'll never find out, Love."

"Damn it, will you stop saying that?" Toph says, propping herself up with her elbow on the edge of the tub.

"What's that, Love?"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Love?"

"Yes!"

"Alright, Love," he says. Toph flicks water at him.

"You missed, Love."

"Shut up," she says as she bends a pebble out of the floor and sends it whizzing at his head. She hears it hit with a satisfying little thunk.

"Ouch," he says. She laughs.

"That's what you get."

He laughs a little too and stands to make his way out of the bathroom.

"Fine. Goodnight, Love."

Toph sighs.

"Goodnight."

He leaves. Toph mulls for a moment, lowering her face into the water up to her nose. Suddenly, she springs up, hopping out of the tub and grabbing her robe. She's dashing out of the master bathroom, a half-formed "_Wait!" _escaping her lips. But he's right there, laying on her bed with his arms tucked behind his head.

"Looking for someone, Love?"

Toph crosses her arms and faces him disbelievingly. Her lack of eye contact doesn't handicap the annoyance at all. She brings her hand to her mouth, biting down on her knuckle before letting a short laugh escape her.

"I suppose you were just _counting_ on getting lucky?" She spits.

The man shifts, resting his feet on the floor and siting upright. He looks at her.

"Was I wrong?"

Toph sincerely tries not to smirk. She covers her mouth with her hand, turning her head so that he can't see her struggle.

"No," she replies.

He smiles silently from the bed while she stands a few meters away, trying to push down the static butterflies in her stomach. He pats his lap.

"Come here."


	9. Chapter 9 Unconditional

_Wow, I really haven't uploaded in months. I'm truly sorry about that, to all of you who like my story. I'm gonna work on picking it up again, I promise. Thank you for being so wonderful!_

* * *

The prospect of knowing that her father actually _slept_ with her mother the night before has Lin blushing furiously at the breakfast table. This is especially heightened when the man, overcome by his own euphoria, swoops his wife up and plants one on her right there in front of their scowling daughter. Lin retches dramatically.

"Uugh..."

Toph smirks, pushing Lin's chair over. The girl hits the ground backwards but expertly tumbles into a standing position, totally accustomed to this rough one-on-one with her mom.

"Don't act so grossed out, kid. I know you do the same thing with Twinkletoes Jr just about every second you can get... teenagers."

Lin flushes a deeper red and throws down her napkin.

"Well, we don't... we don't..." She gags on her own words in an effort to avoid enunciating the words _sex _and _bedroom_ out loud in front of her parents.

There is an awkward pause before Toph bursts out laughing. She clutches her stomach and throws back her head, but in a way that Lin feels she may have never seen on her mother before. Lin's father takes one look at his wife and begins laughing also.

Lin just stands there, stunned.

"I- sorry, kid." Toph says, finally pulling herself together. "Relax a little, will ya? Me and Rockhead over here _are_ still married, you know."

There it is, and she denies nothing... Lin claps a hand over her mouth.

"I think I'm going to puke."

Toph laughs again and grabs a fresh roll off the breakfast table.

"Try the bathroom."

Lin shakes her head and shoots a fleeting glare towards her father and he tries to hold back his grin in an effort to avoid pissing off the girl some more.

"I'm just... I'm going to school," Lin gasps.

She bolts from the room, as if chased by her mother's evident mirth, and soon they hear the front door slam as she exits the Beifong mansion. Lin's Father wipes the tears from his eyes.

"That was cruel," he says with a chuckle.

"That was parenting." Toph says she gets up and stalks from the room. He follows her fading voice. "...something that _you've _never had the pleasure of experiencing."

The man knows that it's a jab at his absence in their lives, but he also notices the rough sort of teasing in her voice, something totally unique to his wife. Nothing is forgiven, yet. But for now, things are all right.

Similarly to the day before, he watches her bend the metal armor around her body. The man takes it in with admiration as each glinting piece attaches itself around her.

"You know," he says. "You still haven't taught me how to metalbend."

She smirks, turning to face him.

"And I never will, Rockhead."

"You taught Lin..." he begins.

"Yes, because _Lin_ is my daughter," She replies. "Not some raggedy, unstructured nomad to whom I somehow ended up married."

The man subtly rolls his eyes. Toph reaches for her belt then, fastening it around her waist without bending, a small accomplishment that reminds her that she could never be helpless, even without her bending.

"Besides," she continues. "Lin likes it too much."

"Metalbending?"

Toph nods.

"I don't know if you've noticed anything about her within the past forty-eight hours, but Lin's a bit of a perfectionist. She tries too hard and she likes it that way."

"I take it she was a good student," the man observes quietly.

"The best student I've ever had," Toph replies, her chest swelling with pride. "But she burns herself out, tries to make better what she's already perfected, and is constantly battling others for leadership in the field. I don't even know what the kid does for fun anymore. It's like being the best one out there every day _is_ her fun."

"Maybe she's just trying to follow in your footsteps as best as she can," the man says. "It's a lot of pressure, being your daughter."

Toph sighs a little, unnoticeable to Lin's father. She checks the cables at her sides and when she finds that all is satisfactory, she pauses before brushing past him on her way to the front hall.

"She's—the closest family member I have... and I might put pressure on her, but she knows why. And I know... she would never love me more if I let up. She'd be insulted." Toph admits quietly.

Overcome by a wave of emotion, regret at never being there for his wife or for his daughter, at not being able to watch Lin grow, to carry her in his arms when she'd been too tired to walk herself to bed, or share with her the sort of unconditional love that she and Toph seem to share despite the roles thrown on them by the society of Republic City; the man takes Toph's hand in his, enveloping her powerful fingers in his warm ones and letting their arms dangle loosely.

"It's not your fault," he finds himself saying.

Toph just shakes her head, and slides her hand out of his grip. She continues wordlessly down the hallway, metal armor clunking gently.

"You don't know," Toph whispers. "You haven't been around long enough."

This one does feel like a stab in his chest but he remains silent.


	10. Chapter 10 The Family

_A few notes before we begin; no, contrary to popular belief, Lin's father is not Ohev. I literally had no idea who that was at first until I looked him up. Yes, Lin's father is a nomad, meaning he moves around a lot. He actually has problems staying in one place for too long because he only feels comfortable traveling. Also, the Yakone trial in my headcanon is not held in the time frame that I have it written in here. I simply think that it will be good for the plot and where I want their relationship relationship to go in this story, so I wrote it a little later in the ATLA/LOK timeline. Hope that's okay!_

* * *

"Don't make any food, we're going over to Aunt Katara and Uncle Aang's tonight."

The man is just fastening on his apron when Lin appears in the doorway, her schoolbag still slung over her shoulders. It's been a solid four days since his appearance on the Beifong front steps and Lin could not be any less uncomfortable with it.

"Are we?" He asks.

Lin rolls her eyes.

"Yes, every Thursday and on the weekends."

"Oh."

"Right," Lin says after a silence. "Well, I'll be practicing out back. Let me know when my mom gets home... actually, never mind. I'll already know. Seismic sense, you know."

She quirks an eyebrow and smirks a little, the Toph in her finally showing through.

"Want a sparring partner?" The man asks eagerly, jumping at the chance to spend some time with his daughter.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'll beat you," Lin really smirks now and she crosses the room, ditching her schoolbag on the table before venturing towards the door to the yard.

"You think so?" Lin's father replies casually. It's not really a question so much as it is a challenge.

Lin turns to face him, her eyebrows shooting up into her hairline.

"Yes, I do," she replies frankly.

"How would you know if you've never fought me before?"

Lin's eyes widen and she squares her jaw. She turns her head to glare ahead of her for a few moments before looking at her father again.

"Alright, fine," she grumbles, and then more aggressively. "But when I kick your ass, you owe me something. I don't know what yet, but you'll still owe me."

"Deal!" the man shouts exuberantly, throwing off his apron, and following her out into the yard. Lin snorts.

"You're so annoying."

The man just replies with a grin, and gets into a fighting stance.

She kicks his ass.

Toph comes home to find her husband and daughter in the back yard, laughing. The man holds a bag of ice while Lin stands close by, arms crossed as she leans casually against the shady tree that her father is currently sprawled under.

"You owe me now," Toph hears the girl say to her husband. She hears him chuckle.

"A deal's a deal," he replies. "What do you want, love?"

Lin throws up her arms.

"I told you I didn't know yet!"

"Fine, fine," he says. "Just tell me later then."

"Tell you what?" Toph interjects, stepping out into the yard.

Lin laughs, the easiness of it is something Toph does not normally associate with her daughter. Something like relief washes over Toph as the smile grows on her face.

"I kicked his ass at earthbending," Lin says, before adding; "blindfolded."

"In my defense love, I still haven't stretched yet," the man says.

Lin snorts.

"Neither have I."

His smirk is so wide it registers in Toph's seismic sense. Toph tries her best to not laugh.

"Face it, Rockhead. _My _daughter knows how to earthbend."

Lin beams. Outward expressions of pride from Toph are normally few, and Lin cherishes them. Pride from her mother was something to be earned and deserved, and beating her father's ass into the ground in an earthbending battle for such praise was well worth it.

"Alright, alright, are we going or what?" She asks, pushing off the tree trunk and making for the house.

"Yep, lets go."

The man sighs a little, thoroughly unsure of the excursion ahead, picking himself up off of the ground and following his family silently.

It would be an understatement to say that the man felt uncomfortable in having to visit his wife's friend, the Avatar, of all people; given what the earthbender has done to hurt Toph. Aang and Katara were family to her. They protected each other through anything. His mistakes had left Toph alone, and mothering a fatherless child. Aang and Katara were the ones to step up and fill the void that the man had created. They were the ones to care for Toph and Lin like _he_ should have. They knew what was wrong with his relationship with Toph. They saw how hurt she was. They watched Lin grow up wondering about her _real _father, and not the quarter dozen or so "Uncles" that stood to fill his place. So naturally, the man would probably never sit well with the power couple of the century.

And that is nerve-wracking.

Airtemple Island is much the same as it was fifteen years ago, except that there are possibly more trees. The man follows Lin and Toph off of the ferry and up to the Avatar's house where it looks like a battle of the elements is raging.

"Bumi I swear to god if you touch my hair!"

Out of the window jumps a laughing Bumi, followed by a pissed-off looking Ursa. She chucks a few warning fireballs at his feet, which the eighteen-year-old scrambles away from.

"Don't worry, I got him!"

Kya appears, twirling out the front door with a full skin of water on her back. She nails her younger brother in the chest with what can probably be classified as a small tidal wave. Bumi is just picking himself up off the ground when he spots the new arrivals.

"Linny!"

The other two girls turn then and run after Bumi as he hurdles at Lin, scooping her up in a wet hug.

"Ew, let go of me!"

"But I missed my Linny-Poo!"

"Yeah and so did I!" Shouts Ursa from behind him. Bumi lets go of Lin, allowing the Fire Princess to hug the girl also.

"I missed you so much!" She babbles. How the daughter of Mai and Zuko ended up being so bright and cheery is a mystery to everyone in the family. It probably has something to do with Ty Li, godmother to Ursa and unofficial Aunt to the rest of the kids, with whom Ursa spends much of her time.

That very woman is stepping out of the house, engaged in what appears to be an animated conversation with Tenzin. The boy nods politely every few sentences. When he makes eye contact with Lin however, they break into breathless twin smiles. Tenzin excuses himself and begins walking over.

This is when Toph pulls her husband away from the group, leading him towards the house.

"Hello Aunt Toph," Tenzin greets on their way by.

"Hey there kiddo, your parents inside?" Toph asks.

"Yeah, they're all in the kitchen," Tenzin answers. He makes eye contact with Lin's father for a moment and nods, a stuttering "Mr. Beifong" escaping his lips.

As he brushes by quickly to join the group of teenagers talking to Lin, the man turns to Toph.

"You know, I may be mistaken but in a conventional marriage, the woman takes the man's surname—and not the other way around."

Toph laughs as they reach the stairs.

"Well Rockhead, I guess we're just not conventionally married then..." Toph replies. She smiles ever so slightly, like she is really dying to say something else but just decides to keep it to herself.

"Toph! How are you?! It's been SO long," Tai Li pulls the earthbender into a tight hug. "And who is this?!" she asks, turning to the man.

"I'm her h—"

"He's mine," Toph interjects quickly, as if the word 'husband' made their relationship almost too real for comfort. Tai Li seems to understand though and nods, winking quickly at the man.

"Lucky girl," she says.

"Yes," Toph replies absentmindedly. The man feels a small, rough hand on his. She guides them inside.

"What, is the whole gang coming?" Toph asks with a lighthearted chuckle as they enter the kitchen. Katara turns to greet them, smiling.

"Toph! How are things with the force?" she asks

"They're moving, finally," Toph replies. "We got a tip today about the location of a triad headquarters. We think that they may be linked somehow to the Puppet Cases," then after a pause, "and to Yakone."

"Have you found him yet?" Aang pipes up. He, Zuko, and Mai are turned towards them at the kitchen table, regarding Toph in earnest. No one seems to be paying attention the taller, larger built man that ducks into the room, still holding hands with his wife.

"Not yet. But we'll be sure to notify you when we do..." Toph says. Her head tilts towards the table more as her demeanor changes. "Your Fireyness! I didn't know you were coming!"

Zuko actually laughs from his spot at the table.

"Good to see you too, Toph," he replies. "We're here for a few days on business with the council, I'm surprised you weren't told about it."

The man clears his throat. Four pairs of eyes snap to him, finally acknowledging his presence.

"She was... a little distracted."

That earns him a sharp elbow to the ribs. The four adults exchange awkward glances. The ensuing silence is enough to make Toph a little fidgety. But she moves out of the way so that she can drop their hands.

"Well, anyways. This is... well I'm not going to pretend you don't know him so we can skip the introductions."

"I didn't think you were here to stay," Katara admits quietly. The man opens his mouth to reply but is cut off by the woman beside him.

"We're... trying something out," and that's the end of that because suddenly there's shouting in the yard.

"Speaking of the council," Zuko says with a smirk. "It appears as though Uncle Sokka has arrived."


End file.
